Miss L Fire Loves... Being Busy in the Kitchen!

Written by Ashleigh Williams

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Posted on April 21 2020

I’m Merve, a 20-something student that is currently interning for Miss L Fire. It’s been weird adjusting to the changes in my new routine, as I’m sure it has been for many of you. Whilst my internship started last week, it seems like the worst timing ever, especially in the midst of all the chaos that’s surrounding us, I’m lucky to be supported by such a kind and welcoming team! Ashleigh and Dami have been showing me so much love and support and I’m excited to see what this new chapter will bring, as I not only get to know the Miss L Fire team better but also you guys! Due to quarantine limiting many of us to our boring routines, I think we are all too familiar with falling into the same old habits and being too lazy to change things up. To make things easier on you we figured we should recommend some of the things Miss L Fire Loves! This week we want to reignite your passion and curiosity for cooking and baking, with many of our favorite recipes. I personally love cooking. I think the methodical rhythm that goes hand-in-hand with the chopping up of ingredients or following the steps in a recipe can be incredibly soothing! Please do try out our recipe’s and tag us on Instagram if you do! ................................................................................................................................... Dami Loves Pasta with Brown Butter, Whole Lemon and Parmesan!Hey all, I know it would be great to have a real Italian recipe from my family repertoire but

1) I’d have to translate it 2) my family does this thing of putting next to all ingredients ‘enough to taste’.

Can I mention, especially during quarantine, being single and wanting to avoid food waste, I’ve adopted as simple as possible recipes with ingredients that don’t perish. I find a lot of my inspiration for varying recipes on the IG account of @zestmylemonwhich have quick and healthy meal ideas.

I love this simple and easy recipe, it’s perfect because you’re going to use butter, lemons and Parmesan for other recipes too! I’ve done it a couple of times during this quarantine (it’s from a Bon Appetite mag):

Ingredients

1 lb. (455g) short tube pasta (such as paccheri or rigatoni)

Salt

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, divided

1 small regular lemon very thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed

1 oz (28g) Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling generously salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions (pasta will finish cooking in the sauce).

Meanwhile, heat half of the butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium until melted. Add lemon slices and cook, stirring often, until softened and bottom of the pot is browned in spots, 5–7 minutes. Using tongs, transfer one-third of lemon slices to a plate; set aside.

Just before pasta is al dente, scoop out 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Add 1½ cups pasta cooking liquid to the butter sauce. (This may seem like a lot of liquid, but it will thicken once the remaining ingredients are added.) Add remaining butter a piece at a time, whisking until each piece is incorporated before adding more until the sauce is emulsified and creamy.

Drain pasta and add to the sauce. Cook, stirring often and adding 1 oz. Parmesan a little at a time. Once all of the cheese is added, continue to cook, still stirring, until cheese is melted and sauce is creamy and clings to the pasta, about 3 minutes. If the sauce looks very thick, add more pasta cooking liquid 1–2 Tbsp. at a time to thin (saucier is ideal as it will thicken as it cools). Remove from heat and sprinkle with an almost ridiculous amount of pepper (about 2 tsp.); toss once more.

Serve pasta topped with reserved lemon rounds and more Parmesan.

...................................................................................................................................Ashleigh Loves Spaghetti Bolognese with a twist!I decided to share a comfort food recipe straight out of a Jamie Oliver cookbook! It’s a Spaghetti Bolognese recipe that never disappoints! The recipe is perfect for a rainy day where carbs are much needed (and it’s freezer friendly too!). This is what you’ll need:

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon

Olive oil

500g minced beef

200ml red wine

1 x 280g jar of sun-dried tomatoes - if you want

2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes

500g dried spaghetti

Parmesan cheese

Method

Preheat the Oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4

Peel and finely chop the garlic and onions, pick and finely chop the rosemary, then finely slice the bacon

Heat a splash of oil in a casserole pan on medium heat, add the bacon, rosemary, garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally

Add the minced beef, breaking it apart with the back of a spoon, then cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to brown, then pour in the wine. Leave to bubble and cook away.

Meanwhile, drain and tip the sun-dried tomatoes into a food processor, blitz to a paste, then add to the pan, with the tomatoes. Stir well, break the plum tomatoes apart a little.

Cover with a lid then place in the oven for 1 hour, removing the lid and giving it a stir after 30 minutes- if it looks a little dry at this stage, add a splash of water to help it along.

About 10 minutes before the time is up, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain, reserving a mugful of the cooking water, then return to the pan with a few spoons of Bolognese, a good grating of Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Toss to coat the spaghetti, loosening with a splash of the cooking water, if needed.

Divide the spaghetti between plates or bowls, add a good spoonful of Bolognese to each, then serve with a fine (heavy) grating of Parmesan.

...................................................................................................................................Jocelyn LovesCarne De Res Con Chile VerdeHey guys! Here's my mom’s recipe for a delicious easy traditional Mexican meal we call Carne De Res Con Chile Verde or Rojo. Which translates to Chili with meat in English I believe... Not too sure as I have never called it by its English translate name lol! So you guys can try and look it up.Hope you guys try it ‘cause it's DELICIOUS!

Chunks of beef or pork can be bought pre-cut or cut to your liking in cubes with the least fat possible

Pour oil into the pan and place the meat on medium heat

Add salt, pepper & meat seasoning to taste

Cover pan, let simmer on low for meat to cook through in its own juice (check and stir periodically)

Meanwhile, meat is cooking boil the chili's (again add as many chili's as you'd like depending on how spicy you want your sauce) we recommend at least 3 chili, 3 red tomatoes if you're making red sauce or use 8-10 green tomatillo tomatoes if you're making green sauce, & onion all together & boil until soft.

Once soft add to blender and add 3 cloves of garlic

Liquefy in blender

Uncover the meat and let the juice evaporate and dry a bit but make sure to leave a bit of oil or add some more if needed. make sure the meat is golden and crispy.

Remove meat and place into a separate pan or bowl, leave leftover oil in a pan once the meat has been removed

Now add the chili you just blended into a pan with oil, and let simmer on low for about 5 mins covered.

Now place the meat into the chili

Stir meat with chili and let simmer for 5 mins covered

Taste and add more sale if needed to taste

Serve with rice, beans & tortillas and you are good to go!

...................................................................................................................................After all of that cooking, we figure you can change it up for a good ol’ weekend baking session!Lynsey Loves Cherry ShortbreadHi Loves! I have decided to share my cherry shortbread recipe. It’s my absolute favorite; the chocolate version is the kids favorite and literally doesn’t last a day! This is a pretty traditional shortbread recipe and super easy to make! Ingredients

250g / 9oz Plain flour

75g / 3oz caster sugar.

175g / 6oz butter

4oz / 1 cup glace / cocktail cherries

Method

Heat oven to 160c / 325F / Gas Mark 3.

Grease a square or round cake tin, around 22cm / 8in diameter. I also usually draw around the base and cut out a piece of greaseproof / parchment paper which makes it even easier to get out of the tin!

Sieve flour into a bowl, mix in the sugar.

Add the softened butter and rub into the flour and sugar until you have a dough…more or less the same consistency as pastry.

Add the cherries and knead evenly into the dough.

Drop into the cake tin and flatten out to the edges of the tin. Crimp the edges with the back of a form and prick all over the surface.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool before cutting into triangles or squares (depending on the shape of your tin)!

To make Chocolate Cherry ShortbreadFollow the method above, but add an extra 2oz (57g) of butter and 3oz (85g) of cocoa powder. To be even more indulgent, add a handful of dark chocolate chunks. ...................................................................................................................................Merve Loves Cinnamon BunsI have always had a sweet-tooth, never getting enough from pastries or cake! I usually don’t get to bake due to the nature of having a busy schedule (seems to kind of be impossible not to have that when living in London), but with this quarantine I have found my silver lining, developing my baking skills! I decided to choose cinnamon buns for my recipe, as I love how comforting they are; as well as taking up quite a good chunk of my time, which is very much welcome during these seemingly endless days! I have tried making my own frosting using cream cheese but for some reason, it never tastes as good as store-bought frosting… What you’ll need:For the dough:

500g flour

200ml room temperature milk

1 pack (or ½ a cube) active yeast

50g sugar

1 egg

50g butter

A pinch of salt

For the filling:

50g butter

6 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons cinnamon (I like to add about 6 though)

For the frosting (although I still advise you to buy it instead):

60g cream cheese

30g butter

60g powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Combine all of the wet ingredients for the dough (milk, egg, butter), then add in the sugar and yeast. Mix until well combined. Next, stir in the flour and salt until the dough begins to form. (I personally like to use gloves whilst doing this because the dough can get incredibly sticky)

After kneading the dough, it should easily form into a rounded ball with a slightly sticky surface. If the dough seems to be too sticky add a tiny bit of flour to it.

Cover the dough ball with a warm towel for 1-2 hours and let it rise.

After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.

Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. You will probably need to cut off about an inch off the ends of the dough as the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as we’d want it to be.

Cut into 1-inch sections with a knife.

Place cinnamon rolls in a greased baking pan or round cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.